The Tenerife Cabildo will consider a motion this Thursday from the Socialist Group, which holds the majority in the corporation, expressing disapproval of the remarks made recently by the island’s president, Rosa Dávila (Canarian Coalition), concerning immigration and historical memory.
Specifically, the PSOE initiative addresses Dávila’s support for the deportation of individuals to non-EU countries like Albania, similar to the measures Italy enforced until its judicial system compelled a change. This is referred to as the “Meloni system,” advocated by the Italian Prime Minister and other far-right figures, including Víctor Orban and Marine Le Pen, as stated by the PSOE.
The Socialist Group reminds the Cabildo president in its motion of the potential fate that thousands of Canary Islanders would have faced had the “Meloni system” been implemented during their emigrations to Venezuela throughout the 20th century, while also highlighting the propagation of hatred, “contrasting sharply with the notably compassionate nature of Tenerife society.”
This alignment with far-right tenets has also been reflected in Dávila’s stance on the so-called “monument to Franco”, created by Juan de Ávalos, originally titled Monument to Victory, in reference to the triumph of the coup d’état led by Francisco Franco, which resulted in the subsequent dictatorship, the PSOE recalls.
In this context, Rosa Dávila deemed it suitable to advocate for the reinterpretation of the monument, suggesting it be referred to as a “monument to Concord”, a proposal that “fostered little agreement and sparked extensive debate within Tenerife society as a whole.”
